He Choose You

August and September were both great months. We managed to finish paying off ALL of our private student loan debt and medical debt, purchased plane tickets to go back to Michigan, purchased our flights to Mexico/Guatemala, and figured out how to bring Niko (our cat) with us :)

Here is an update of our financial progress:

In May we had $1,647 / $10,034 paid off! (16%)

In June we had $5,185 / $10,034 paid off! (52%)

In July we had $6,611 / $10,919 paid off! (61%)

In August we had $8,020 / $10,919 paid off (73%)

In September we had $10,919 / $10,919 paid off! (100%)

We also started clearing out our apartment. Most of our extra clothes are gone; things that once seemed important have been donated or thrown away. We also opened new bank accounts that we will need for international banking. Everything is pretty much set to go.

My business made some great strides this month. We did our first actual show and did great. We ended up profiting about six times over (hence all the purchased flights this month). I've been clearing out stock like crazy and re-organizing the business to work effectively on an international level. It's a little scary wondering how well things will work out, but we have faith that everything will be just fine.

We both also have been studying Spanish a little more with Rosetta Stone. It's slow progress, but hopefully will help us out a lot. When in Guatemala, the Rosetta Stone will effectively become our Spanish teacher, considering the cost of hiring one is a little too much with the amount of money we will have coming in. With the help of the kids telling us everything in Spanish (and probably making fun that we can't pronounce it quite right), as well as some of the Guatemalan staff, we should be alright.

A friend of ours who we met on our last trip to Huehuetenango had recently returned to the orphanage and has been writing about her trip there. A particular blog she wrote talked about the concept of "home," and what that actually meant. We have had many late night talks about what "home" will mean going into the future. Philly seems like home now. Michigan has always been home. Guatemala will bring a different level of depth to that idea of "home." It's not just a place we live, or a place we grew up, or a place where we know every one. In Guatemala, "home" is the place we belong, where we are needed, where we make a difference, where we crave to help and love.

Last month, while sitting on the couch talking about Guatemala, I was having difficulty fathoming the depth of our move and just how much our life was going to change. The jump into what we are doing without that fear and concern would be a little naive, I think. But on this night, while chatting with Heather, I asked her "how do we know we are doing the right thing?" Heather replied simply "because it feels right." And she was right. But on that night, I needed something a little deeper and more meaningful. I replied to her "I think I need a little more than just that." I turned my head from her, only to have my eyes fall on a pamphlet that was laying on the floor. The pamphlet was from a church we attended the night before, with large writing on it saying "He choose you."

He choose you.